Turhan Bey

Turhan Bey
Born Turhan Gilbert Selahattin Sahultavy
March 30, 1922 (1922-03-30) (age 89)
Vienna, Austria
Years active 1941–1953 and 1990–1998

Turhan Bey (born March 30, 1922)[1] is an American actor of Turkish and Czech descent. Bey was active in Hollywood from 1941 to 1953. He was dubbed "The Turkish Delight" by his fans for his exotic handsome looks.[2] After his return to Europe, he pursued careers as a photographer and stage director.

Returning briefly to Hollywood to receive an award, he made several guest appearances in 1990s television series (most notably SeaQuest DSV, Murder, She Wrote and Babylon 5) and in a number of films.

Since retiring he has appeared in a number of documentaries, including a German-language documentary on his life.

Contents

Early years

Bey was born Turhan Gilbert Selahattin Sahultavy in Vienna, Austria on March 30, 1922 as the son of a Turkish diplomat and a Czechoslovakian mother.[2] After the annexation of Austria to Nazi Germany the family emigrated to the U.S. in 1940.

Frequently cast in "exotic" roles, Bey often appeared with María Montez. They appeared together in Raiders of the Desert, Arabian Nights, White Savage, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Bowery to Broadway, Follow the Boys, and Sudan. He also had roles in Night in Paradise,The Amazing Mr. X and Out of the Blue.

Bey's career faded towards the end of the 1940s, with his last movie role being Sam Katzman's Prisoners of the Casbah in 1953, until he had a brief renaissance in the 1990s. He appeared in two episodes of the science fiction TV series Babylon 5: first as the Emperor of Centauri (who also had the name Turhan), and later as a Minbari Ranger named Turval. A documentary film about Bey, Vom Glück verfolgt. Wien - Hollywood - Retour, was made in 2002 by Andrea Eckert.

Filmography

Actor
Year Film Role Notes
1941 Shadows on the Stairs Ram Singh
1941 Footsteps in the Dark Ahmed
1941 Raiders of the Desert Hassen Mohammed
1941 Burma Convoy Mr. Yuchau
1941 The Gay Falcon Manuel Retana
1941 Bombay Clipper Captain Chundra
1942 Unseen Enemy Ito
1942 The Falcon Takes Over Jules Amthor
1942 Danger in the Pacific Tagani
1942 Junior G-Men of the Air Henchman Araka
1942 Drums of the Congo Juma, Henchman
1942 Destination Unknown Captain Muto
1942 The Mummy's Tomb Mehemet Bey
1942 Arabian Nights Captain of the Guard
1943 The Adventures of Smilin' Jack Kageyama Serial film
1943 White Captive Tamara
1943 Captive Wild Woman End Narrator (voice) Uncredited
1943 Background to Danger Hassan
1943 Crazy House Uncredited
1943 The Mad Ghoul Eric Iverson
1944 Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Jamiel
1944 Dragon Seed Lao Er Tan - Middle Son
1944 The Climax Franz Munzer
1944 Bowery to Broadway Ted Barrie
1945 Frisco Sal Dude Forante
1945 Sudan Herua
1946 Night in Paradise Aesop
1947 Out of the Blue David Gelleo
1948 Adventures of Casanova Lorenzo
1948 The Spiritualist Alexis
1948 Parole, Inc. Barney Rodescu
1949 Song of India Gopal
1953 Prisoners of the Casbah Ahmed
1993 SeaQuest DSV Dimitri Rossovich TV series (one episode: "Treasure of the Mind")
1994 Healer Igor Vostovich
1994 Possessed by the Night Calvin
1995 Murder, She Wrote Sherif Faris TV series (one episode: "Death 'N Denial")
1995 VR.5 Abernathy TV series (one episode: "Reunion")
1995 Grid Runners Dr. Cameron
1997 The Visitor TV series (one episode: "The Black Box")
1995-1998 Babylon 5 Centauri Emperor / Turval TV series (two episode: "Learning Curve" and "The Coming of Shadows" )
2000 The Skateboard Kid II Zeno, an Angel
2002 Vom Glück verfolgt. Wien - Hollywood - Retour Himself TV documentary
Producer
Year Film Notes
1953 Stolen Identity Producer

References

  1. ^ Garrett 2005, 28.
  2. ^ a b Feramisco & Koster 2008, 167.

Bibliography

  • Feramisco, Peggy Moran; Koster (2008), The Mummy Unwrapped: Scenes Left on Universal's Cutting Room Floor, McFarland, ISBN 0786437340 .
  • Garrett, Eddie (2005), I Saw Stars in the 40's and 50's, Trafford Publishing, ISBN 1412058384 .

External links